Ethiopian pair takes 17th annual St. Charles Children's 5K 

The heavy rain disappeared in time, but it left its mark before the start of Monday morning's 17th annual St. Charles Children's Home 5K.

Ethiopian runners Demesse Tefera and Hirut Beyene made the trip from New York and weren't slowed down, as they both won their respective divisions in a field of 947 finishers.

The 31-year old Tefera won the overall crown by crossing the finish line at Martin Point's Health Care in 15 minutes, 31 seconds. A pair of 33-year old runners from Dover finished behind Tefera as Daniel Hocking placed second (15:58) and Nathan Huppe was third (16:28)

"It was a very good race today," Tefera said. "There was rain today, so it slowed you down, but it went very well."

Beyene, 21, broke away from second-place finisher Heidi Westover after the first mile to win the women's division with a time of 16:50. She broke the women's course record (17:27) that was set last year by Kaitlyn D'Orazio.

Westover, 32, of Walpole finished in 17:05, while Larissa Park, 32, of Somerville, Mass. was third (17:16).

"It was a very hard race, there were a lot of slop, a lot of puddles," Beyene said, "but it was very good."

All proceeds from the race went to benefit the St. Charles Children's Home in Rochester.

Both Tefera and Beyene are preparing for November's New York City Marathon. Tefera finished 11th overall in the 2008 New York City Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes flat. Tefera is hoping to break 2:08 this year.

With a personal record of 13:45 in a 5K, Tefera said he just had "a nice jog" on Monday, but that was good enough to put distance away from the rest of the field pretty quickly.

"I just wanted to take it slow," Tefera said. "The rain was really tough, you kind of sank into the puddles, but it was a very nice course."

The highlight of Tefera's racing season was his win at the Rutgers Half Marathon in New Brunswick, N.J. in April.

This was the first race of the year for Hocking, the 2011 winner of the race. He has been battling a hip injury, a stress fracture to his femur, and a sore Achilles' heel. He hopes to be ready for October's ING Hartford Marathon.

"It felt good just to be out there," Hocking said. "It's hard to refocus and be mentally sharp. I felt good, but (Tefera) was just at a different level today."

Beyenee said she has battled Westover, a perennial top runner in New England, before and they usually take turns winning. Monday was Beyenee's turn after the pair battled side-by-side through the first mile.

"(Westover) is strong," Beyenee said. "We were together through the first mile, but after that I was ahead. I felt comfortable through the whole race."

Beyenee was second in the women's division in the Pittsburgh Marathon in May.

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Monday's race was special for Jeff Fazio, who is attempting to run a 5K in every state within a year. Fazio, 39, of Harrisburg, Pa. originally began running to get in shape, but was inspired to accomplish a more grueling feat because of co-worker Dee Gerber, who has suffered muscular dystrophy since birth and is now regulated to a wheelchair.

Fazio has crossed off 11 states and said he should have 27 done by January. Fazio will run in Michigan on Friday, followed by races in Chicago and Indianapolis on Saturday.

"She keeps me motivated going through the states," Fazio said. "It's been grueling, just with logistics. It's been interesting. I've been sick this week, but no matter what, I'm going to do it. Dee can never run, so I'm not going to let it slow me down."

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Tefera, Hocking and Huppe were followed in the men's top 10 by Ross Nickerson (16:31) of Falmouth, Maine; Eric Williams (16:35) of Concord; Rob Edson (17:19) of Hanover; Justin Soucy (17:20) of Hudson; Colin Lee (17:23) of Dover; Michael Fraysse (17:27) of Derry; and Bobby Hammond (17:37) of Flanders, N.J.

Following Beyenee, Westover and Park in the women's top 10 by Carly Dion (17:24) of Biddeford, Maine; Heather Mahoney (18:27) of Westford, Mass.; Amy Bernard (18:31) of Hampstead; Alexandra Swiatocha (18:55) of Mahopac, N.Y.; Lesley Hocking (19:03) of Dover; Jacqueline Gaughan (19:20) of Exeter; and Caroline Fischer (19:59) of Merrimack.

Male age-group award winners were Maddox Jordan (7-and-under, 24:33) of North Berwick, Maine; Ryan Young (8-11, 19:43) of Merrimack; Hammond (12-15); Tristan Smith (16-20, 17:58); Colin Lee (21-25, 17:23) of Dover; Bartley Mullin (26-30, 18:07) of Rutland, Vt.; Soucy (31-35); Jonathan Alizio (36-40, 18:26) of Chester; Fraysse (41-45); Williams (46-50); Francis Lamy (51-55, 20:01) of Chester; Mike Barry (56-60, 19:27) of Northwood; Scott Abercrombie (61-65, 20:10) of Salem; Rick Stetson (66-70, 21:22) of Duxbury, Mass.; Gary Reuter (71-75, 25:58); Robert Madden (76-80, 42:30) of Derry; and Clifford Smith (81-85, 37:58).

Female age-group award winner weres Maranda Ramini (7-and-under, 29:57) of Sanford, Maine; Caroline Fischer (8-11, 19:57) of Merrmack; Gaughan (12-15); Anna Noble (16-20, 20:13) of Rochester; Caryn Pepin (21-25, 22:44) of Derry; Mahoney (26-30); Bernard (31-35); Jamie Good 936-40, 20:28); of Meredith; Cindy Edson (41-45, 20:09) of Hanover; Lisa Klasman (46-50, 20:45) of Bedford; Julia Martinage (51-55, 20:53); Lynn-Marie Fawcett (56-60, 21:47) of Chester; Judy Lamaire (61-65, 24:01) of Wolfeboro; Susan Murphy (66-70, 32:26) of Rochester; Sachiko Burkinshaw (32:47) of Londonderry; Jeannatte Perrin (76-80, 45:07) of Nashua; and Isabel Pike (86-90, 45:55) of Epping.